Richard MacAndrew
Richard MacAndrew is a character from the Wideacre trilogy. Appearance Richard has curly, jet-black hair and bright blue eyes, and a fair complexion. When he was born, Beatrice was quick to point out that he looked like the spinning image of Ralph and she secretly wished Ralph had been his father because of their close resemblance. Personality Richard takes after Beatrice's personality in so many way, if not more than hers. Richard is greedy, callous, and manipulative when it comes to Wideacre. For all his life, all Richard has ever wanted most in the world was fulfilling his mother's wish of inheriting Wideacre. This makes him care less about others, including his own family members. Although Celia and John worked hard to raise him in a loving, healthy home and a fine education at a good school, Richard doesn't care for them, and considers them lowly compared to him. Richard also refused to associate with any of his peers and the villagers, and instead preferred to take whatever they gave him and expect to not give back in return for their kind gestures, causing many of the villagers to dislike him. Since childhood, Richard bullied Julia, mocking her for being shy and timid and later trying to isolate her from others in order to break her will and force her to honor their mother's wish. Richard has no honor or morals, as he is willing to eliminate any threats to his goals without remorse and happily boasting his crimes to Julia when pressed. He was so determined to inherit Wideacre that he goes as far as to becoming a serial rapist and murderer. Despite his sociopathic tendencies, Richard has a small soft side for his daughter Sarah, which is seen through Julia's pregnancy; he is happy when he learns the news (although he puts the blame on her for her being raped by him) and keeps tabs on the welfare of the baby throughout the pregnancy. Richard feels pleasure in killing people but he is actually afraid of death himself, as he was seen begging for Julia to save him before being killed by Ralph. Biography Richard was born on Wideacre to Beatrice and Harry Lacey, shortly after Beatrice's nineteenth birthday and seven months after her marriage to John. Beatrice welcomed the birth of her son with delight, saying he looked just like Ralph and sadly wished he had been Ralph's son. She even picked the name Richard because it sounds closer to Ralph. When John returns home early, Beatrice announces his son had been born but he immediately sees that Richard was carried to full-tem and is not his son. Despite this betrayal and eventually learning the truth about Harry being the child's father and Beatrice's crimes, John decided to continue being Richard's father because the child needs one, as Harry would reject Richard if he learned it. His first year was filled with turmoil; despite an initial loving relationship with his mother, Beatrice eventually came to see Richard and Julia as pawns to gain ownership of Wideacre and betrothed them as join heirs by mortgaging the estate, which later bankrupted it and the villagers sought revenge against Wideacre. John convinced Celia to flee with him and take the children in order to save them from Beatrice. After Beatrice and Harry's deaths, Richard was raised by John and Celia, but his betrothal to Julia seemingly remained. As they grew older, Richard was referred to Julia as her brother, cousin, best friend, betrothal, and bully. Richard learned about the betrothal from his surrogate parents early in his childhood and, like his mother, became desirous of Wideacre. He made it his life-long goal to become its owner and go through with marrying Julia to achieve it, despite his contempt for her. Richard constantly bullied Julia for her shy nature and insecurity, which left her more sheltered and forced her to accept Richard's abuse, as it was the only social interaction she had with someone around her age during her childhood. When Richard became a teenager and was sent to school, Julia took the opportunity to meet new people and found love for the first time with James. When Richard returned, he was enraged of how independent Julia was becoming and this threatened his chances of inheriting Wideacre. So, to break her will, Richard begins secretly murdering her friends one by one, as well as raping some of them for the thrill he finds in the crimes. Although this devastates Julia, she accepts James' marriage proposal. Richard then corners Julia and rapes her to dishonor her; showing her no tenderness as he forces himself on her and no remorse as she cries out in pain. Richard later acts as if nothing happened and challenges Julia to tell others of the rape because no will believe her and they will only blame her if they do, as well as threatening to kill her if she does speak out. Richard continues with saving face by acting as the caring surrogate brother in public, but he continues to mock Julia for what happened. When Julia tells him she is pregnant, Richard reacts with excitement but blames Julia for it. Richard takes advantage of her emotional turmoil by offering to marry her to save her reputation, which she sadly agrees, and they secretly marry. When they return home to tell John and Celia, they learn that Beatrice and Harry were their true parents. Richard is not shocked to learn he is the product of incest or that he has married his sister but instead is overjoyed that he is the true heir to Wideacre. When John and Celia try to have the marriage annulled, Richard executes them and passes it off as an ambush by a stranger. Although Julia suspects his involvement, she is too afraid to say anything and Richard reacts calmly when they learn the news. They settle into married life, in which Richard is eager to begin renovating Wideacre in time for the baby's birth. He also shows a strong interest in the pregnancy and believes it will be a boy, showing that while he thinks the baby will further secure his position as the heir, he truly cares about the baby. One night, Richard enters Julia's room and seemingly intends to rape her once more. Julia, fed up with his abuse and no longer able to contain her suspicions, berates him. Richard is both surprised and enticed by her attitude, and confesses the extent of his crimes, such as the murders of her friends and John and Celia. In shock, Julia goes into labor and Richard rushes to get her help, but as Julia, after giving birth to their daughter Sarah on her own, flees and gives Sarah away to a gypsy family, Richard is ambushed by Ralph and held at knifepoint. He sees Julia return and pleads for her to help him, but she looks away and orders Ralph to kill him, and Richard dies instantly when his throat is slashed.Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Wideacre characters Category:Fictional characters